Heavy snow keeps Windsor, Severance residents at home

WINDSOR – Windsor and Severance were ghost towns Wednesday with businesses closed, no cars on the streets and residents tucked away in their homes.

Five-foot drifts and wind gusts led officials to declare a state of emergency. Motorists were asked to stay off roads unless travel was absolutely necessary.

It was the worst storm in Windsor in at least 28 years, said Terry Walker, director of public works.

David Jacoby, a retired firefighter who has lived in Windsor 37 years, said he also doesn’t remember anything this severe.

“When I was younger and it snowed, usually most businesses remained open,” he said. “This is the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Snow depths ranged from 24 inches-36 inches in Windsor, according to the city public works department. Some drifts reached 5 feet.

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In Severance, customers at Bruce’s Bar said they had drifts up to the hood of their trucks.

The snow was so wet and heavy that the lobby roof of the Providence Ice Center at 7900 S. Larimer Country Road 5 collapsed Wednesday afternoon. No one was in the building when the chunk of roof, 50 yards by 100 yards, fell through. The ice center will remain closed until a contractor can make it through the snow-covered road to look at repairs.

At least a dozen cars were abandoned on Windsor-Severance area roads.

Colo. 392 was covered with snowdrifts that reached 2-3 feet high.

Keeping roads cleared was a battle because of high winds that kept blowing the snow.

McDonald’s was one of the few businesses open in Windsor along with Safeway.

Mary Trujillo, a clerk at Super 8 Motel, 1265 Main St., began her day with all 40 rooms filled: “That is very rare, especially on a weekday.

There were a lot of people who couldn’t make it home.”

Windsor residents who were at home were happy to be there.

Pam Shoup, who works at Group Publishing in western Loveland, didn’t even attempt to plow out of the nearly 2 feet of snow in her Windsor driveway. Only three people out of 20 in her department made it to the Christian publishing company on Tuesday and she doubted that anyone was there on Wednesday.

Her husband, Dave, a town board member, also was glad to be at home.

He works in west Fort Collins and, on Tuesday, his Chevy Impala got stuck picking up a co-worker. And once he got to work, he decided to turn around and return home.

The storm is expected to blow out today and temperatures will jump into the 40s, but officials still urge caution.

“It will still be tough for the next 24 hours, and then for days afterward,” said Police Chief John Michaels. “With these tremendous piles of snow that will melt, they’ll be a hindrance for quite some time.”